The ramifications of mental illness to families and society are huge, Jacobs said before the inaugural meeting of the group.

"And we either pay for it now, or we pay for it in our jails," she said. "We pay for it in our crime statistics. We pay for in our homeless camps. And then we pay for it in terms of what our community will become if we don't address the problem."

The commission will meet over the next six months to create a blueprint for improving the system of care. Jacobs wants its report by January in order to appeal to state lawmakers for legislative changes and funding.

The problem is extensive, officials testified.

About 9,600 kids in Orange and Osceola counties have a diagnosed mental-health disorder, the Florida Department of Children and Families reports, and 5,000 are being treated for drug or alcohol addiction. Each year, about 20 percent of the nation's youth will suffer some form of mental illness.

Psychologist Lee Underwood, a national consultant on the problem, said up to 70 percent of the kids in the juvenile-justice system have an underlying mental illness but that locked facilities are rarely the solution. Research shows community-based programs that bring services to kids and their families in their homes and schools are more effective.

Starting next month, Miami-Dade County will train school personnel to spot warning signs of disturbed students. The "Typical or Troubled?" program, designed by the American Psychiatric Foundation, helps adults distinguish normal teen angst and rebellion from indications of deeper psychological problems.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Orlando also offers a program called "Ending the Silence" to teach high school students the signs and symptoms of mental-health problems and what they should do about them. Donna Helsel, the group's director of education, said a pilot program in May at Edgewater and Evans high schools showed promise.

"It's a stigma-buster," Helsel said. "It's coming out and talking about it, identifying it in your friends, identifying it in your family and identifying it in yourself."

The commission is scheduled to meet again Sept. 30 at 9 a.m. in the Orange County Administration Building.